Author Archives: Jnpickens

Unknown's avatar

About Jnpickens

Classic film lover and reporter in North Carolina.

Watching 1939: My Son is Guilty (1939)

Posted on by

In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them. As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, that’s difficult.

1939 film:
My Son is Guilty (1939)

my son is guilty

My Son Is Guilty, US lobbycard, from left: Harry Carey, Jacqueline Wells (aka Julie Bishop), Bruce Cabot, 1939. (Photo by LMPC via Getty Images)

Release date:
Dec. 28, 1939

Cast:
Harry Carey, Bruce Cabot, Julie Bishop (billed as Jacqueline Wells), Glenn Ford, Bruce Bennett, Wynne Gibson, Don Beddoe, John Tyrrell, Dick Curtis, Edgar Buchanan
Themselves: The Nicholas Brothers

Studio:
Columbia Pictures

Director:
Charles Barton

Plot:
Ritzy Kerry (Cabot) is released from prison, returning home to his policeman father, Tim Kerry (Carey), with a chip on his shoulder believing his dad could have stopped his imprisonment. Ritzy’s girl, Julia (Bishop), also has a new beau (Ford), which Ritzy doesn’t take kindly to. While Tim wants his son to get a good job, Ritzy once again gets involved with another mob, which results in robberies and deaths around the city. Tim unfortunately realizes, he has to stop his son from causing more destruction.

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: Broadway Gondolier (1935)

Posted on by

It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

broadway gondalierThis week’s musical:
Broadway Gondolier (1935) – Musical #283

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Director:
Lloyd Bacon

Starring:
Dick Powell, Joan Blondell, Adolphe Menjou, Louise Fazenda, William Gargan, George Barbier, Grant Mitchell, Hobart Cavanaugh, Joe Sawyer, Rafael Alcayde, Bob Murphy, James Burke, Lloyd Bacon (uncredited), June Travis (uncredited), Mary Treen (uncredited)
Themselves: Mills Brothers; Ted Fio Rito Orchestra; Judy, Pete Anne and Zeke Canova

Plot:
Taxi driver Dick Purcell (Powell) has dreams of becoming a singer. When two theater critics hear him sing (Barbier, Cavanaugh), they recommend him to a radio producer (Mitchell) to audition for his show. The producer’s secretary, Alice (Blondell), also thinks Dick has a wonderful voice, but through a series of mix-ups, Dick’s voice teacher, Professor de Vinci (Menjou) sings in his place during his audition—and he doesn’t sing well. The radio sponsor, Mrs. Flaggenheim (Fazenda), believes the only way she will find a suitable singer in Italy, so she travels there. Dick hatches an idea to stowaway and be discovered in Italy.

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: Paris in Spring (1935)

Posted on by

It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

paris in the spring4This week’s musical:
Paris in Spring (1935) – Musical #769

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Lewis Milestone

Starring:
Mary Ellis, Tullio Carminati, Ida Lupino, Lynne Overman, James Blakeley, Jessie Ralph, Dorothea Wolbert, Akim Tamiroff, Craig Reynolds, Joseph North, Jack Raymond, Jack Mulhall, Harold Entwistle, Sam Ash, Arnold Korff, Francis Ford (uncredited)

Plot:
Paul (Carminati) and Mignon (Lupino) both meet atop the Eiffel Tower, both in despair over love. Paul’s marriage proposal to nightclub singer Simone (Ellis) was turned down, and 17-year-old Mignon left her cousin Albert (Blakeley) at the alter when he didn’t think she was mature enough. Though Paul and Mignon originally considered jumping off the Eiffel Tower, instead they hatch a plan to make Simone and Albert jealous. In search of Mignon, Albert meets Simone, and then the two of them join forces to make Mignon and Paul jealous.

Continue reading →

Turner Classic Movies Classic Film Festival 2024

Posted on by
tcmff

Covering TCMFF in 2023

I’ll be returning to the Turner Classic Movies Classic Film Festival to attend the 2024 event. This will be my ninth festival and it will be the 15th year that Turner Classic Movies has hosted the film festival.

This year’s festival theme is Crime and Justice in Film, and special guest stars will include Jodie Foster, Billy Dee Williams and Lesley Ann Warren, just to name a few.

More Eighty films will be screened during the festival, which will take place from Thursday, April 18, through Sunday, April 21.

Below are ways to follow my Hollywood adventures:
• X (formerly Twitter): @HollywoodComet
• Instagram: @CometOverHollywood
• Facebook: Facebook.com/CometOverHollywood

I’ll also be logging the films I watched on Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/HollywoodComet/

Screenshot 2024-04-17 070943

Musical Monday: April in Paris (1952)

Posted on by

It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

april in parisThis week’s musical:
April in Paris (1952) – Musical #129

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Director:
David Butler

Starring:
Doris Day, Ray Bolger, Claude Dauphin, Eve Miller, George Givot, Paul Harvey, Herbert Farjeon, Wilson Millar, Raymond Largay, John Alvin

Plot:
S. “Sam” Winthrop Putnam (Bolger) is a by-the-book State Department diplomat. He plays by the rules and doesn’t believe in mistakes. However, even Sam isn’t above making an error. His mistake? Inviting chorus girl Ethel “Dynamite” Jackson (Day) to a Paris arts festival instead of actress Ethel Barrymore. Sam visits Ethel in New York City to break the bad news, as her friends are throwing her a bon voyage party as she leaves for France. As Sam tries to undo his mistake, his superior, Secretary Robert Sherman (Harvey), think that maybe having a chorus girl at the arts festival isn’t a bad idea after all, and could be great public relations.

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: Spring Parade (1940)

Posted on by

It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

spring paradeThis week’s musical:
Spring Parade (1940) – Musical #768

Studio:
Universal Pictures

Director:
Henry Koster

Starring:
Deanna Durbin, Robert Cummings, S.Z. Sakall, Anne Gwynne, Mischa Auer, Henry Stephenson, Billy Lenhart, Kenneth Brown, Allyn Joslyn, Walter Catlett, Peggy Moran, Regindal Denny, Franklin Pangborn, Edward Gargan, Samuel S. Hinds, Leon Belasco,

Plot:
While at a festival, Hungarian girl Ilonka Tolnay (Durbin) has her fortune read that says her husband will be an artist and she will meet him in Vienna. She thinks this is ridiculous because she has never been to Vienna. After the festival, she falls asleep on a pile of hay. When she awakes, she finds that she actually was asleep on a cart driven by baker Latislav Teschek (Sakall) and is en route to Vienna. While initially upset, Ilonka realizes this may help her fortune come try. She stays with Latislav and his family, and eventually meets Corporal Harry Marten (Cummings), who happens to be a composer.

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: April Love (1957)

Posted on by

It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
April Love (1957) – Musical #767

april love

Studio:
20th Century Fox

Director:
Henry Levin

Starring:
Pat Boone, Shirley Jones, Dolores Michaels, Arthur O’Connell, Matt Crowley, Jeanette Nolan, Bradford Jackson, Robert Adler (uncredited)

Plot:
When Nick Conover (Boone) has a brush with the law in Chicago, he is sent to Kentucky to stay with his aunt and uncle (Nolan, O’Connell) on their farm in Kentucky for the summer. Nick befriends their neighbors, Liz (Jones) and Fran (Michaels) Templeton, and becomes interested in harness horse racing.

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: Spring is Here (1930)

Posted on by

It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

spring is here2This week’s musical:
Spring is Here (1930) – Musical #745

Studio:
First National Pictures, distributed by Warner Bros.

Director:
John Francis Dillon

Starring:
Lawrence Gray, Alexander Gray, Bernice Claire, Frank Albertson, Inez Courtney, Louise Fazenda, Ford Sterling, Natalie Moorhead, Gretchen Thomas (uncredited)
Themselves: The Brox Sisters (Bobbe Brox, Kathlyn Brox, Lorayne Brox)

Plot:
Betty (Claire) returns home at 5 a.m. after being out with her sweetheart, Steve (Lawrence Gray). That day, her father is furious, disapproving of Steve but approving of Terry (Alexander Gray), another young man who cares for Betty. But Betty doesn’t care for Terry, so her sister Mary Jane (Courtney) creates a plan to make Betty jealous.

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: Juke Box Rhythm (1959)

Posted on by

It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

juke box rhythmThis week’s musical:
Juke Box Rhythm (1959) – Musical #360

Studio:
Columbia Pictures

Director:
Arthur Dreifuss

Starring:
Jo Marrow, Jack Jones, Frieda Inescort, Brian Donlevy, Marjorie Reynods, Hans Conried, Karin Booth, Fritz Feld, Edgar Barrier, Robert Banas (uncredited)
As themselves: George Jessel, Earl Grant Trio, The Nitwits, Johnny Otis, The Treniers, Wally Stewart

Plot:
Princess Ann (Morrrow) travels from Europe to buy her coronation wardrobe in New York City. Her proper aunt, Countess Margaret (Inescort), disapproves of the trip and rock and roll music. When Ann sneaks out to listen to rock music in the hotel, she briefly dances with Riff Manton (Jones) and they are photographed. Riff’s dad, George Manton (Donlevy), is trying to put on a show, but with no funds. Riff’s father and mother (Reynolds) are having marital issues and Riff is worried is dad will go to another wealthy woman (Booth) for money. As a way to bring them together, Riff woos Princess Ann with hopes that he can make money for his parents.

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: Little Nellie Kelly (1940)

Posted on by

It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

little nellie kellyThis week’s musical:
Little Nellie Kelly (1940) – Musical #238

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Norman Taurog

Starring:
Judy Garland, George Murphy, Charles Winninger, Douglas McPhail, Arthur Shields, Rita Page, Forrester Harvey, James Burke, George Watts, Joseph Crehan (uncredited), Milton Kibbee (uncredited), Sidney Miller (uncredited), Addison Richards (uncredited), John Raitt (uncredited), Mel Ruick (uncredited)

Plot:
Nellie (Garland) and Jerry (Murphy) want to marry and move to the United States from their home country of Ireland, but her father Michael (Winninger) doesn’t think Jerry is a proper suitor for his daughter. Nellie goes against her father’s wishes and marries Jerry anyways. All three move to the United States, where they become citizens and build a life, but with Jerry and Michael still at odds. Years later, when Nellie and Jerry’s daughter, little Nellie (also Garland) is a teenager, history repeats itself when Michael once again has strong opinions about the young men in his granddaughter’s life.

Continue reading →